From Stiletto Heels:Somewhere along the way, life for high school teen Shima seemed to take a wrong turn. A fall-out with a friend in her all-girlís school became fodder for nasty rumors, etching her name onto the schoolís blacklist. Things at home arenít looking any better. Her mother seems to be in love with the idea of being in love, and has a string of husbands to prove it. Shima has been silently putting up with her motherís latest arm-candy, but with her friendships going down the drain, the pressure to escape and start anew has her craving for the bears and Yezo sika deers of her biological fatherís hometown in Sapporo.

The summary for this series sounds so generic - girl meets popular boys, falls in love, and is going to be outcasted by all the girls. BUT DON'T LET THAT FOOL YOU!!! This manga is seriously great and has a lot of potential. There are 5 chapters out so you can get a feel of what may be coming in the chapters to come. I really like the characters (and their back stories are so interesting) and there's no one that is annoying (even the antagonist isn't too bad). I especially love Sumire the dog <3

This type of story (with a sensible slice of life setting) is hardly found anywhere. The day to day situations in this manga are very real. The characters are so unique and true. The art compliments the humour and story. Overall it is extremely lovable. The humour as well is intrinsic and unique because even with the smallest of gags, I find myself giggling and laughing. However, there is one hardship that you must prepare for before reading this. It is the incomplete scanalation of the chapters. I am dying with the wait for more english scanned and translated chapters. It is definitely worth it though because this manga is ONE IN A MILLION and you will find yourself going crazy over it. I myself am obsessed with this story and plot line but I really want more chapters.

Okay, I have read it until volume 5 in Japanese. At first, I only read because of the art and didn't expect much from the plot, but then gradually I found it interesting. The heroine is not your usual crybaby heroine and the romance plot is also taking an unsual turn for the heroine. The girl like a guy that likes an older woman (why is it always an older woman and on top of it always a school teacher or nurse?) I end up feeling kind of sad for the heroine because of the romance plot... well I don't want to spoil anything, so I will let you guys see by yourself once it is translated. I hope the author won't be too hard with her and let her have a nice romance!I enjoyed reading the 5 first volumes although the plot is not going as I wish, and I am looking forward for the next tankoubons to be out.

Volume 5's end is such a cliffhanger! Too bad the scanlation is kinda slow. I actually did not read it though.

I've read up to ch 8 (latest scanlated chapter). This is actually pretty good.I particularly cringed of shoujo manga where girl being bullied due to getting close to hot guys in class or school. I mostly shy away from those plots. Anyway, it's good I gave this a shot and found that it's not just about bullying and this matter was merely touched in short time since there are other elements added like unrequited love, friendship, older sister, marriage, and such.

Again, it's IKUEMI Ryo sensei we're talking about here. She's good in turning slice of life story into something charming. This is a story that will me you laugh, grin, maybe a little sad at times. Generally, this is entertaining.

I'm a huge fan of Ikuemi Ryou Sensei, her mangas always lets you immerse yourself with the characters and plot without sugar coating anything (oh all the bitter-sweetness and cruelty of life).

That said, I literally wanted to cry reading this manga, I felt so bad about the MC's situation that I wanted drop it. Eventually though, after taking a little break from the manga, I continued reading. Good thing the mood does pick up later on!

This is what I like about Ryou-sensei's works, she creates characters so fleshed out that you can easily relate to them, their actions so realistic that you'd picture yourself doing the exact same thing as them if you were in their shoes. She also has no qualms about letting her characters suffer (I've got to give it to her for that!). The characters' interactions with each other are so fluid and natural too, Ikeumi-sensei projects them in all their entirety- flaws inclusive too, but you still learn to love them nevertheless.

This is one of my favourite series of hers, I recommend Principal to readers along with most of her older works.

The story is most definitely out of the ordinary. The plot and characters are good. The drama can get sad, but it is realistic and not exaggerated. But what I probably enjoy most about this story is the protagonist. She is probably the most relatable protagonist in any shoujo I have read. Her thoughts and emotions are expressed clearly and beautifully. She is funny, understanding, with the normal attitudes that an ordinary girl would have - pity for a poorer friend, shame at being called out on this pity, unintentional feelings of superiority for being more attractive (for the lack of better words). Her thoughtful reflection on her actions gives depth to her character. One thing I was really happy about was how her friendship with the rival charcter was explored. I don't know if it's a trope or not but many shoujo have this rival girl who likes the guy and bullies or obstructs the protagonist, but then somehow becomes a friend. Many authors just leave it at that, but here it actually explores the complexity of such a relationship - the insecurity and distrust Shima still feels over the friendship and the actual dilemma of liking the same person as your friend. Both the male leads are also cool, not the usual 'refreshing' bishounen but actual people.Finally, the art is lovely and it beautifully conveys the feelings of the characters and the moments.

I decided to give this a go after reading the favourable comments and I don't regret it for even a second ^^The story progresses in a low key manner, the heroine's not a crybaby, great art and interesting characters. What else do you need? just pop on your reading glasses, lean back and enjoy

The plot builds on slowly, in many subtle layers. I love this author's work. Once again she is able to illustrate and tell such a delicate story from a realistic POV of a teenaged girl. Basically, this is a complicated love web (quadrangle? Pentagon?) between several good friends and one family member. Older woman-younger man, step-siblings, etc., unrequited love and repressed feelings, so on. But it's done in a very low-key, quiet kind of way, not dramatic or cheap or anything. I would recommend this big time.

This is not your usual shoujo manga, so don't be fooled with the cover or description. The characters are so funny and amusing, especially the heroine (she's so cute!). I can't wait to know what will happen to the heroine, because seems like there are still so many things waiting for her ahead. Really worth to try especially if you already bored with your usual dose of shoujo manga :3